CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Malcolm Hill made sure Illinois didnt step off the gas pedal Friday night so that the Illini could took care of business against Detroit Mercy, 89-69.The senior, who scored 25 points, led his team to a quick start after the intermission, when his team was up 39-30 and it seemed like the Titans would close the gap even more.Im always in an aggressive attack more, but this was one of those games where I needed to start strong in the second half, Hill said.Illinois (4-0) continued its strong start to the season in the opening game of the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament.The Illini had little trouble scoring, shooting 27of 52 from the field and 8 of 19 from 3-point range. Friday marked the second straight game the Illini had difficulty shooting from the free throw line however, finishing 27of 38.Tracy Abrams continued to have a strong return to basketball, scoring 15 points and finishing with four rebounds, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range.Groce knows the importance a balanced offense can have on his team.If you can have a balance of paint touches with that outside shooting, it puts opponents in dilemmas, Groce said.Detroit Mercy (1-2) had trouble keeping up with Illinois fast offensive pace from the start of the game. The Titans never led.Josh McFolley and Jaleel Hogan both led the way with 16 points for a team that finished shooting 43 percent from the field and 24 percent from beyond the arc.The Titans fell behind in most categories against the Illini, but Detroit Mercy head coach Bacari Alexander felt Illinois won the game down in the post, where the Illini won the rebound battle 39-29.They took advantage of those opportunities (in the post), Alexander said. (But) I like the direction this team is going in.BIG PICTUREIllinois: The Illini have played as they should against the type of opponents theyve faced so far this year. The team has one game left against relatively easy competition before facing No. 19 West Virginia at the Barclays Center in New York.Detroit Mercy: Although the game was never really close after the first few minutes, the Titans found some scoring opportunities and will need to continue to do that in the rest of the tournament.ROLE PLAYERGroce thought bench player D.J. Williams had his best overall performance of the year. The sophomore wing scored six points.LETDOWNAfter a strong start to the season, center Maverick Morgan had his worst night of the season, finishing with six points and zero rebounds and fouling out with more than five minutes left in the game.UP NEXTIllinois will continue play in the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament when it hosts Winthrop in Champaign on Monday.Detroit Mercy will try to bounce back Monday when it travels to Florida State to play its second game in the NIT Season Tip-Off.---More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org Dan Fouts Jersey . -- Tony Stewart is 20 pounds lighter and has a titanium rod in his surgically repaired right leg. Hayes Pullard Jersey . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. http://www.chargersauthenticofficialonline.com/authentic-mike-williams-jersey.html . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. Tyrell Williams Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Korey Toomer Jersey . -- Ken Appleby made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 2-0 win over the Belleville Bulls on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action. COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- When Mississippi coach Hugh Freeze saw Shea Patterson win a state championship as a high school junior he walked away with a man crush on the quarterback.Safe to say hes still crushing on Patterson after his performance Saturday night.Patterson threw for 338 yards and two touchdowns in his debut and Gary Wunderlich made a 39-yard field goal with 37 seconds left to lift Mississippi past No. 8 Texas A&M, 29-28 on Saturday night.The Rebels pulled the redshirt off Patterson, the highly regarded recruit, to start in place of Chad Kelly, who suffered a season-ending knee injury last week.Ive recruited this kid since he was a ninth-grader and Ive kind of always known that he has that `it quality, Freeze said. The guy just makes plays. He doesnt get rattled a lot.Mississippi (5-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) trailed by 15 entering the fourth quarter before Patterson got going.A 13-yard touchdown reception by Josh Reynolds put A&M up 28-19. Patterson then connected with Van Jefferson on a 32-yard reception for his second TD pass of the quarter to cut the lead to 28-26 with 5:17 remaining.A&M (7-3, 4-3) had to punt and Patterson moved the offense into position for Wunderlichs winner.The Aggies had a chance to win it late, but Jake Hubenak had a pass intercepted by Deontay Anderson to secure the victory. Hubenak was making his first start this season in place of Trevor Knight, who injured his shoulder last week.I put it on me, Hubenak said. I think it didnt do a good enough job in the second half.Early in the fourth quarter Patterson looked like he was channeling A&M Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel when he scrambled to one side, avoided the rush and ran the other way before launching a 6-yard touchdown pass to Damoreea Stringfellow to get Ole Miss within 21-13.Its crazy, my first start -- Johnny Manziel was my favorite player growing up, Patterson said. Its ironic that I get my first start at Kyle Field. Its awesome.On their next drive Stringfellow reached out with his right hand and tipped the ball with his fingertips before reeling it in with one hand for an eye-popping 40-yard reception.There were several key points but that was certainly one, Freeze said. Hes one of the most talented kids Ive ever coached ... it was a phenomenal catch.Akeem Judds 21-yard run made it 21-19, but the two-point conversion failed.The Aggies leed 21-6 at halftime thanks to two touchdown runs by Keith Ford.dddddddddddd.The Rebels had turnovers on their first two possessions of the second half, but Texas A&M couldnt convert either of them into points. Patterson threw an interception on the first one and Jason Pellerin was sacked and fumbled after that.They just made some great plays at crucial times and they got one over on us, Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett said.THE TAKEAWAYMISSISSIPPI: Patterson showed why he was the No. 1 rated dual-threat quarterback recruit by Rivals last year, and should make Ole Miss fans excited about his potential for next season. But first hell look to get the Rebels a win over Vanderbilt next week to make them bowl eligible for the fifth straight season.TEXAS A&M: Hubenak couldnt make plays in the second half and the Aggie struggled with tackling yet again. Hell have to improve if Texas A&M hopes to beat LSU in two weeks and salvage this season that started out with six straight wins before the Aggies dropped three of their last four games.INJURY REPORTTEXAS A&M: LB Armani Watts was injured in the first quarter and didnt return. Watts had to be helped off the field and wasnt able to put any pressure on his right leg. Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin did not give an update on his condition.KEY NUMBERSOle Miss outgained A&M 490 to 342 yards and piled up 30 first downs to just 13 by the Aggies. Texas A&M converted just six of its 14 third-down attempts and was 0 for 2 on fourth-down tries.Those two fourth down opportunities ended up costing us, Sumlin said. The ability to get either three points on either one of those, or a touchdown, in a game like that is a big deal.POLL IMPLICATIONSTEXAS A&M: The Aggies will certainly fall a few spots after losing to an unranked opponent. However they might not tumble that far since three teams ahead of them in the poll also lost on Saturday as well as a handful of teams below them.UP NEXTMISSISSIPPI : The Rebels visit Vanderbilt next Saturday.TEXAS A&M : The Aggies take a break from SEC play by hosting Texas-San Antonio next Saturday before wrapping up the regular season against LSU on Thanksgiving night.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25 Stitched Jerseys Cheap Jerseys NFL Jerseys China Jerseys NFL China Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys From China ' ' '